4 September 2023.
From the highest path we’ll hike this trip to the valley floor (still rather high by our flatlander/sea level standards), we’ve continued our treks to — and from — lunch.
The other day (See: On the road again) we started our hike from Muottas Muragl, at over 8000 feet and ended at about 7600 feet. We gazed across at Piz Bernina and down at St. Moritz and the Val Roseg. An amazingly long funicular carried us up to Muottas Muragl, and a cold ride in a chairlift delivered us to Pontresina post lunch. Very cold. Windy. Rocking back-and-forth. A regular thrill-ride!
The next two outings took us down to those gems and found us staring up at Muotta Muragl.
The glittering lakes of St. Moritz and the tiny jewel of Laj da Staz (Lake Staz) far below us as we look down from the Panoramaweg.
The walk from St. Moritz to Laj da Staz did not require us to watch our feet nor use trekking sticks. A walk in the veritable park! It led us to a fine restaurant, only open 4 ½ hours each day, on the shores of the sparking alpine lake, Staz. Here we dined on quiche and sipped wine before taking a stroll in the woods following the pass between St. Moritz and a stop-on-request station for the little red train back to Pontresina. How civilized. Walking to-and-from lunch helped pay for the Cremeschnitte we shared for dessert.
This is Cremeschnitte. Just a light dessert.
The hotel is unique as it is only available for private bookings. They have 6 rooms and an event space so a group can rent it for a wedding, reunion, or other special event.
Laj da Staz, a glittering alpine lake a 40 minute walk from the St.Moritz train station and the charming full-service hotel and restaurant which welcomed hikers with style. No eating off paper plates or drinking from plastic cups for us.
Friday we repeated an outing we took in 2018: A Pferdeomnibus (horse omnibus) up the Val Roseg to the Hotel Restaurant Roseg Gletscher.
Our view from on high shows the ribbon of river and a road leading through the Val Roseg. Although the road ends in 4 miles at a hotel, one can walk a path several miles to get very close to the glacier. We hiked back through the forest on the left.
Riding the “horse bus” is a riot. Three sturdy mares (the driver called them her Fräulein) pulled our carriage built for groups. All the passengers were Swiss except us, and they were in a party mood this sunny Saturday, packing along a couple of bottles of the Swiss white wine, Fendant, which they generously shared with us. Nothing like an aperitif en route in your horse-drawn omnibus. After an hour we arrived at the restaurant where we once again dined in style. (No trail side soggy sandwiches for us!) Liveried waitstaff, lovely preparations of the freshest foods, a solid wine list, and a dessert bar to die from for. We had the Fitness Teller or health plate, a grilled chicken breast on a bed of salad. A light option as we knew the desert bar was inevitable. Nüsstorte for me and a cake with fruit and cream for Ric.
This day’s hike was a path from lunch instead of a path to it. The horse omnibus traverses a gravel road that also supports bicycle traffic. Some walkers take it, as well, but the true hiking path is a forested trail running above and mostly out of sight of the road. We hiked almost two hours to reach Pontresina. The horse trek up the valley took about an hour. The path seems very gentle but was actually an overall descent of 745 feet. We let the horses do the hard work of walking uphill.
Top left: View over the driver’s shoulder of the “girls.” Center top: Our convivial bus. Blankets not needed this fine day. Top right: View of the valley as we road the omnibus up.
Bottom left: View looking up the valley past the restaurant. Center bottom: Little blue alpine butterflies. The males take minerals from the mud and deliver them to the females during mating. Bottom right: Half of the dessert bar. There were at least 30 selections.
For better pictures of the horses and omnibus and more about the trip, see https://www.engadin-kutschen.ch/.
The lower elevations around here are still higher than anything we have within hours of home. St. Moritz is at 6000 feet as is Pontresina. Now that we are used to this altitude, we are moving to lower elevations. Off to Kandersteg tomorrow. Stay-tuned!